Sorting aid



Oct. 9, 1956 F, A. RAACH, SR

SORTING AID Filed Dec. 12, 1952 m an INVENTOR. fiw/yc/s A. Raaaf:

SORTING AID Francis A. Raach, Sn, Prairie Village, Kans. Application December 12, 1952, Serial No. 325,526 1 Claim. (Cl. 211-11) This invention relates to ofiice equipment and more particularly to an improved sorting aid for use in sorting alphabetically, numerically or otherwise classifiable documents or the like.

The most important object of this invention is to provide an improved sorting aid adapted for the sorting and temporary filing of a maximum number of documents or the like classifiable into a maximum number of different classifications.

Another important object of this invention is to provide a sorting aid adapted for securely holding documents filed therein in place while the sorting aid is moved or tilted during carrying or the like.

Another important object of this invention is to provide a sorting aid having structure adapted for speedy, eificient and convenient manipulation by an operator.

Another object of this invention is to provide a sorting aid having resilient means adapted for yieldably holding the divider tabs thereof biased toward the support upon which same are mounted.

Another object of this invention is to provide a sorting aid having divider tabs adapted for calibration and having a portion thereof cut away to present a plurality of side-by-side aligned rows of classifications and structure engageable by the operator.

Another object of this invention is to provide a sorting aid embodying main divider tabs for principal classifications which have mounted thereon a series of sub-tabs corresponding to subsidiary classifications, thereby adapting the sorting aid for use in simultaneous sorting of documents by both classifications and sub-classifications.

Other important objects of this'invention, including certain details of construction, will become apparent from the following specification.

Referring now to the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of one form of sorting aid of this invention, with parts broken away for clarity.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of said form of the sorting aid.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the same, illustrating certain of the tabs being held upwardly out of engagement with those below and with a document shown in the filed position under one of the divider tabs.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on line IV-lV of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary, cross-sectional view of a portion of one form of dividing tab taken on line V-V of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of a modified form of divider tab adapted for use in the sorting aid of this invention, parts thereof being broken away for clarity.

The sorting aid of this invention, and more particularly the preferred form thereof ilustrated in the accompanying drawing, includes a rectan ular support 19 of uniform thickness, which is preferably formed of wood, but may be of plastic or any other suitable material. Support 10 is provided adjacent its forwardmost and rearmost ends (respectively its left and right ends as illustrated in Fig.

2,765,925 Patented Oct. 9, 1956 1) with a pair of corrugated rubber mounting pads 12 secured to the support 10 in underlying relationship thereto by any suitable fastening means, such as nails or cement. Pads 12 operate to prevent the sorting aid from moving about upon a desk or other surface upon which the same may be placed during use.

A plurality of elongated, polygonal divider tabs 14 are mounted at their lowermost and forwardmost ends to the upper surface of support it) by any suitable fastening means 16, preferably staples, as illustrated in Fig. 4. It will be noted that in the preferred form of sorting aid shown in the accompanying drawings, the tabs 14 are mounted to the support 10 in pairs This construction permits the incorporation into the sorting aid of a greater number of tabs 14 than could be mounted upon support M if each tab 14 was individually secured thereto. It is to be understood, however, that certain of-the improvements contemplated by this invention are equally applicable to sorting aids wherein each tab 14 is individually mounted to the support ill, as well as to constructions wherein a number of tabs ltd greater than two are mounted to the support 10 by a single fastening means 716.

The tabs 14 are preferably all of the same length, and the manner of mounting the same upon the support 10 in echelon relationship with their lowermost and forwardmost ends spaced at intervals along the support, as illustrated in the accompanying drawing, presents a series of shingled tabs 14 each superimposed upon an underlying adjacent tab 214 and in partial overlapping relationship thereto. Alternate tabs 14 are cut away respectively, as

as at 26 and 28 of a portion of each tab 14 respectively, and particularly the manner of so cutting away portions from the opposite sides of alternate adjacent tabs 14, serves both to expose the portions E7 of tabs 14 underlying and adjacent to alternate tabs 14 and also to provide a clearance opening for the holders 18 of adjacent tabs 14. Such construction is necessary in order to achieve the substantially continuous interengagement between adjacent tabs ll required for positive frictional holding of documents between the tabs 14 when the sorting aid is moved or tilted. 7 Such construction also permits the provision of side-by-side, front-to-back aligned rows of a number of side-by-side aligned rows of holders 1% of proximate tabs 14, thereby minimizing the length of the support it required to accommodate a given-number of tabs 14 and 'permittin-grnore efiicient and speedy manipulation of the sorting aid by an operator than would otherwise be possible.

The transparent card receiving holder 1% may be conveniently secured to the portion 17 of each tab 14 by fastening means 20, such as a staple. Each card receiving holder 18 may suitably be of a transparent plastic material and may include a pair of opposed walls 18a and integrally joined by a folded bight 18b, the bight 18b overlying a straight edge 25 at the uppermost and rearthe holder 13 is mounted upon the tab 14 to present a means of access to a removable card 24 having classification calibrations 27 thereon. Calibrations 27 may be alphabetical, numerical or representative of such other system of classification as required by the user.

A rectangular, resilient member 30, preferably formed of plastic material of greater thickness and resiliency than the tabs 14, is mounted upon the support 10 at its forwardmost and lowermost end by any suitable fastening means, which may include staples or the like, and an overlying plastic cap 32 is mounted upon the support by fastening means 36, such as nails. The member is so disposed with relation to the support 10 and the tabs 14 and in engagement with the latter as to exert a continuous biasing force upon the tab 14 engaged thereby toward the support 10; this biasing of the tab 14 engaged by the member 30 toward the support 10 in turn biases each of the other tabs 14 toward the support 10 by virtue of the superimposed, overlapping, interengaging relationshi between adjacent tabs 14.

A plastic cap 34, which may be identical to cap 32, is suitably mounted upon the support 10 adjacent the end thereof opposite cap 32 by fastening means 38, which may be nails.

The operation of the sorting aid may be understood from a listing of the following manipulative steps. First, the sorting aid is conveniently located adjacent the operator, preferably upon a desk or the like. The operator then picks up with one hand the document to be sorted, selects the proper tab under which the document is to be classified, lifts the tab 14 selected by engagement therewith of the operators other hand, inserts the document underneath the lifted tab 14, and, finally, releases the lifted tab 14, whereupon it will be returned to its interengaging relationship with the underlying tab 14 by the biasing action of member 30 and the overlying tabs 14. In Fig. 3, a document is shown properly inserted under an appropriate tab 14 being held in lifted position by an operator.

A modified form of divider tab 114 is illustrated in Fig. 6 of the accompanying drawing. The tab 114 is cut away as at 126, similarly to the manner in which tab 14 was cut away at 26, and is provided with a card receiving holder 118 and fastening means 120 for mounting the holder 118 upon the tab 114, such holder 118 being adapted for receiving a card 124 having classification cali brations 127 thereon, all in the same general manner and construction as described respecting tab 14 and its comparable associated parts. Tabs 114 may be mounted upon support 10 by fastening means 116, as above described for tabs 14.

Each tab 114 is provided with a plurality of rectangular sub-tabs 150, preferably of equal length, mounted in echelon, superimposed, partially overlapping relationship upon tab 114 by any suitable mounting means, such as adhesive as indicated at 152. Each sub-tab may be provided adjacent its unsecured, exposed end with suitable classification calibrations 154. Sub-tabs 150, like tabs 14 and 114, are preferably formed of flexible cardboard, plastic or like material, and are preferably rectangular in shape.

In operating the sorting aid provided with tabs 114 instead of 14, it is obvious that essentially the same steps will be followed, With the additional steps of selecting an appropriate sub-tab 150, after seiection of the proper tab 114, and lifting sub-tab 150 to permit insertion of a document 40 thereunder. By use of tabs 114 in the sorting aid, a greater number of classifications and sub-classifications may be sorted with a sorting aid of given size than with any other prior construction known to me.

Manifestly, the forms of this invention illustrated in the only preferred examples of accompanying drawing and above described at length are the broad concepts of this invention, and it is accordingly intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended claim.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

A sorting device for stationery sheet material comprising, in combination, a rigid support of narrow rectangular shape in plan and of uniform thickness, antifriction mounting pads secured to the bottom of said support, a plurality of pairs of divider members of rectangular shape in plan and of equal length and having a width equal to the narrow width of said support and of materially less length than said support, said pairs of dividers being of resiliently flexible material throughout their whole length, and positioned at one end thereof in parallel abutting relationship to each other and to said support in overlapping echelon relationship, means rigidly securing said one end of each pair of dividers to said support in said abutting relationship, each of said dividers remaining in a coplanar attitude after attachment to said support, each of said pairs of dividers having the next adjacent overlying pair of dividers biasing the underlying pair toward said support thereby adding to the natural resiliency in each of said dividers whereby upon lifting up of the unattached end of a divider to insert therebelow a sheet of material being sorted, said bent up divider bends throughout its length forming an arcuate shape from its rigidly attached end and on being released snaps back toward said support to tightly hold said sheet of material against the underlying divider, each of said dividers having a portion of its visible end extending as a diagonal edge to the longitudinal axis of the divider to expose one part of the divider therebelow, an outer resilient member of like rectangular shape to said dividers and of relatively greater thickness positioned over the topmost pair of said dividers in like echelon relationship and having an end lying in abutting relationship to said support, means securing said abutting end of the outer resilient member rigidly to said support, cap means extending over said abuttingly secured end of the outer resilient member and down along each adjacent side of said support and means securing said cap means to said support.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 192,109 Brower et al June 19, 1877 915,887 Richardson Mar. 23, 1907 1,106,396 McDonald Aug. 11, 1914 1,218,558 Hub Mar. 6, 1917 1,274,446 Ratigan Aug. 6, 1918 2,195,943 Straubel Apr. 2, 1940 2,568,302 Redmond et al. Sept. 18, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 108,940 Switzerland Feb. 16, 1925 395,753 Great Britain of 1933 47,461 Denmark of 1933 

